


Love Is A Sweet Thing  ☆彡

by japanesedenim



Category: NCT (Band), nctdream - Fandom
Genre: !!!, Basically, Fluff and Angst, M/M, bit of crack, chensung - Freeform, first gay love, nctdream, realising youre gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-16 22:25:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11838234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/japanesedenim/pseuds/japanesedenim
Summary: Chenle might be the most manipulative, eccentric, most childish person Jisung knows.





	Love Is A Sweet Thing  ☆彡

**Author's Note:**

> hi ! First Chensung fic ( unedited yikes) and I hope you guys like it. Ignore mistakes i will fix them : >
> 
> Title from a song by Faith Hill.

 

 

It is two o’clock in the afternoon and the six of them are all stood in a line, listening to one of their coordi-noonas fuss over their outfits. She tugs at Jisung’s collar to make sure it is straight, brushes at it with her hand, and straightens it out once more. Definitely not necessary but he thanks her anyway, polite and sweet. 

 

Next is their manager, running them through today’s schedule and the usual regulations. Jisung can’t say he is paying full attention (though he keeps his eyes ahead to make it seem like he is) because he has heard it all a million times and it is never anything new. 

 

Beside him, Mark hyung is nodding like he is listening too-- Jisung would bet everything he owned that he wasn’t listening at all. Or maybe he was. He wonders why he cares so much and if he is truly  _ that _ bored.

Jisung picks at the funny neon bracelet on his wrist and thinks about how much he wants to play his video games back home; his older brother had gotten him persona 5 for working so hard on their latest comeback. Chenle keeps bugging him to play it. Not only that, he has been trying to beat him at this stupid game on the pc, snake, possibly the most ridiculous game created, for a week now. He’d do anything to get his way. He was good at that. No one could resist him, really.

Chenle might be the most manipulative, eccentric, most childish person Jisung knows.

Now, they are the same age, but Jisung has been trying to be mature since he was nine, has been reserved since eleven, so being with Chenle is, as sad as it sounds, exciting; he says things the others would be scared to say, shouts as loud as he possibly can, is ridiculously competitive, acts as rebellious as any other normal boy--

 

Sometimes, he forgets he is his hyung of three months. 

 

(He also forgets that they are idols and that they are  _ not  _ normal boys).

 

Sometimes, Jisung can only stare at him with wide eyes, amazed at his confidence.

Ten minutes past two. 

Their manager is still speaking. 

 

Jisung licks his lips and peers over at Chenle, stood on the very far end of the line of members, who frankly, all look like the easter bunny had thrown up on them. His eyes are trained on the ceiling, bored. 

 

He could never stand still, not even for a minute.

 

Jisung thinks he looks a little bit like a sailor in that outfit; a gentle, sky blue color to match his sandy blonde hair. He looks down at his own attire, clicking his tongue. 

 

They keep dressing him in pink, and he doesn’t think they are going to stop any time soon. 

“It isn’t so bad. Kind of,” Chenle had said before their last stage, scanning Jisung with a somewhat skeptical look, pulling some faces, before shrugging. “You look better than the other hyungs.”

 

He appreciated his honesty at least.

At least Jisung doesn’t have to wear the choker this time around (he  _ hated _ that) but they kept the knee high socks. He has never had to wear them before, or anything like them for the matter, and they always feel like they are going to fall down.

 

It is really beginning to irritate him, but that should be the least of his worries.

Another noona, the blonde one with the pretty, feline eyes, kindly instructs them not to touch their hair. Jisung can’t help but flush and she’d barely battered an eyelash.

He may, or may not, be nursing a very small, tiny, crush on her.

 

Jeno has been teasing him about her for weeks. Jisung denies his interest in her every time, but he can’t help but watch her whenever she enters the room. She is so, so pretty. Jisung hasn’t seen anyone as pretty as her. She could be a model-- or an idol.

Something in the corner of his eye distracts him from his thoughts. 

 

It is Chenle waving his hand behind his back, just enough to get his attention. He is looking right at him, his head cocked to the side in curiosity. He then raises his brows so they go right up his head. 

 

Jisung stifles a laugh. 

 

_ Pay attention _ , Chenle mouths. 

 

Jisung raises his eyebrows back. 

 

_ You pay attention _ . 

 

Chenle grins cheekily and looks back to the front.

Another cool thing about being an idol, is meeting a load of fun, diverse people. Chenle is unlike any other person Jisung has ever met. He is also his first, proper chinese friend.

When their manager is done talking, the go to get touch ups on their makeup before they go on screen. The two presenters have already started to introduce the show. 

 

Jisung is nervous about it; he always gets shy about these things. Chenle is the opposite. He thrives in those settings, acts charming and funny. When the noona finishes patting his face, not the pretty blonde one, Chenle is waiting for him.

“Jisung park!” He calls. He has made a habit of calling him that.

“Ah. You look worried.” Chenle states when Jisung is a little closer, his lips pulling down into a natural looking pout that only Chenle could pull off. There is a fresh load of blush on his cheeks and the inner corners of his eyes sparkle. Jisung wonders if his own eyes look as sparkly.

“I am, kind of,” he flexes his fingers. Nervous habit. Chenle is watching his hands.

Chenle places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes.

The shorter replies as confidently as ever. “Don’t be, you have me. Plus, you are awesome. The hyungs are the lame ones.”  _ Ah _ , Jisung thinks. How cool. Pretentious, but cool. Chenle makes it look effortless.

“Yeah,” Jisung nods, and his voice cracks. The voice cracks have been going for a while now (the joys of puberty) and whenever he thinks it is over, it happens again. Chenle keeps a neutral face but Jisung sees the ghost of a smile on his lips.

 

He winces and covers it with a cough. ”Thanks.”

 

A tall man with a headset on walks past and shouts that they will be on air in ten.

Chenle looks from the man back to him. “By the way, I am  _ definitely  _ going to beat you on snake tonight.”

“You haven’t beaten me yet.” Jisung replies, the corner of his lips quirking upwards. 

 

Chenle pulls a face.

“All in good time,” he starts, lifting a slim hand to scratch at his cheek. Quickly, Jisung grabs his wrist and Chenle pauses with a very brief look of shock on his face. 

“Careful, that noona will kill you if you mess up the makeup.”

Chenle looks at him as though he is thinking very deeply, soon schooling his expression into a practiced, cheeky expression. “Ahh, yeah. Thanks!” He chirps, flashing him a dramatic thumbs up. Jisung doesn’t really know what to say so he drops his hand, before holding up a closed fist.

“ _ Muk-jji-ppa _ before the show?”

Chenle grins, a real smile, and closes his hand to form a fist of his own. “ _ Hell _ yeah.”

✰

“I am so tired.” Chenle announces when they get to the hotel, unceremoniously falling back onto the lawson-style sofa. Renjun pulls off his coat and shuffles over to where Chenle is splaying his limbs out, jabbing his side shortly after. His eyes remain shut. 

 

Jisung realises that he is, pretty badly, playing dead. 

 

“I’m dead.” He calls dramatically to Renjun, confirming Jisung’s theory. 

Haechan snorts and throws his cap at him. Mark has already retreated to his room, too tired for their antics, and Jeno is sat on the other sofa watching some video on his phone.

“You’re insufferable.”

Chenle sits up with an exaggerated  _ ow-w  _ and wrinkles his nose. The cap had barely touched him but Jisung expected nothing less. “What does that even mean?”

“Means you’re too much to take.” Jisung added in, taking off his own coat and padding into the front room in his socks. 

 

The clock on the wall ticks loudly.

It is already ten at night.

“Jisung Park!” Chenle says, eyes up on him in an instant. “How do you know that?”

“I don’t know--Books?” Jisung answers, scratching his cheek tiredly. Renjun is sat beside Chenle now. They are nudging each other, progressively getting rougher. Haechan has slipped into his room.

Jeno lets out a grunt, his eyes still trained on his phone screen. “How are you guys still going?”

“What are you, fifty?” Is what Chenle replies, confident and assured. Renjun sniggers and shoves the other. “ _ You are so rude _ .” He says in Mandarin. At this point, Jisung can’t be bothered to even ask what it means. Chenle throws his head back and laughs.  _ “It is a joke!” _

Jisung retreats to his own room and takes out his laptop from his bag. First, he checks out some of the fan accounts. Shots have already been released from the show, some from backstage. In one, the noonas are with them-- the blonde noona is right behind Jisung. 

 

It makes him feel giddy. 

 

He flicks through the ones they took outside the establishment, reading through the comments about how lovely and fashionable they all looked. “Fashionable,” He mutters, eyeing Haechan’s orange and green socks. In another picture, they were all supposed to hold a thumbs up. Jisung thinks it is stupid, but he had done it anyway. He scans across the picture; Chenle is holding a thumbs down. 

 

Jisung stares at incredulously.  _ What the heck, Chenle. _

He hears Renjun say he is going to bed and some shuffling outside. A few minutes later, Chenle slinks into their shared room.  

“Playing snake without me?” He is considerate enough to lower his voice, but it is still pitched and somewhat shrill.

“I haven’t started.”

Chenle sits beside him on the bed. Their arms brush and Jisung shifts over to make more space. The smaller just squishes closer--private space really wasn’t a thing with Chenle. 

“What ya looking at?”

“Photos.”

Chenle takes over, flicks through a few of them. Jisung lets him.

“You totally like that noona.” He says out of nowhere, out of the blue, out of the freakin’ air, surprising Jisung completely. 

 

His eyes whip down to the screen; it is the photo of them with the staff.

Jisung shuts the tab. “Do not.”

“Do to. Everyone knows it.”

Really, Jisung didn’t know Chenle paid such great attention to him. He supposes that is a good thing, but right now, it is definitely, definitely a bad thing.

Nudging the laptop so it faces him, Jisung wordlessly opens the game. Chenle’s eyes sparkle as the title flashes on screen (it isn’t flashy, the graphics are quite bad in fact) and just like that, the topic is over with. Jisung couldn’t be more thankful about his short attention span.

“Gimme,” he says, pulling the laptop to balance on his thighs. Jisung watches him play silently, watches the small, pathetic block snake move around his screen. When Chenle dies, he lets out the loudest and most dramatic huff Jisung has ever heard. “Your turn.”

Jisung beats him.

With twitching fingers, Chenle locks his eyes on the screen - a familiar look of determination on his face - and tries again, and like always, the younger watches him in awe.

✰

“Jisung Park!”

Jisung looks around as Chenle bounds up to him and throws his arms around him. They have just visited a teahouse and are now touring the local area. Japan feels a little more familiar with each day they are here.

 

Jisung faces him with a grin.

“You know, you look like a cat when you smile. Your eyes go all small.”

Jisung furrows his brows. “Is that a compliment?”

“Sure is.” Chenle pulls away and slaps a hand on his back--hard. “Yellow car.”

“There are literally no cars around.”

 

“I saw a yellow car.”

 

“Course.”

Chenle shuffles closer, maybe a little too close. It isn’t that he doesn’t get this close to Jisung, because he does, but it feels odd. “Smile for the cameras.” 

 

Right, fan service. Silly of him to forget about the eight camera men a few feet away.

Jisung smiles wide and throws an arm around Chenle’s shoulder. “Always do.”

✰

“Games?”

They are on a tour bus the next morning, on their way to _ Keitakuen Garden  _ where they will be filmed all evening. Even now, as they speak, the cameras catch their every word.

“Eh.  _ Snog, marry, avoid.  _ ” Jeno says-- the english words sound odd and foreign. Jisung wonders if they should be playing this kind of game.

Haechan pulls a face.  _ “Snog?” _

“ _ Kiss~  _ ” Chenle drawls in perfect English, making silly kissy faces at Renjun, who laughs and scrunches his nose up. “It is British.”

“So, someone says three names and you say who you would kiss, who you would marry, and who you would avoid.” Mark explains.

“Ah, alright.” Haechan looks up as though he is thinking. ”Irene sunbae, Taeyeon sunbae, and Soojung sunbae.”

Chenle lets out a boyish whine. “That’s too hard!”

“He’s right, I can’t pick.” Mark chuckles sheepishly, and Jisung thinks if the camera’s weren’t here, he wouldn’t be looking so shy and he would definitely have picked Irene Noona without a beat.

“Okay, okay, I have a funny one-- out of all of us.”

Jisung blinks, surprised. He has never thought about it.

“I’ll start!” Chenle stands up and examines them all. _ “ _ Kiss Renjun hyung, on the cheek, marry Jisung and avoid lame hyung Mark.” 

Whilst the others laugh and tease their eldest, Jisung is left with the startling image of them as a married couple. Weirdly enough, he can see it; there’s a funny little dog and a small blue house. Jisung comes home in a grey suit that looks too big only to see Chenle is back early, making instant ramen. It is ridiculous and stupid but Jisung flushes pink all the same. He sinks down into his seat, embarrassed beyond belief and blames the flush on the weather.

✰

Chenle is very observant.

Backstage, Jisung is sat with Jeno, playing this new game that came out in the app store where you shoot penguins with ice cream. It is mildly entertaining, but the graphics are good, and they have nothing better to do. Instead of watching Jeno play, he is looking at that noona, who is currently doing Mark’s makeup. 

 

Hypnotic, he thinks with a barely audible sigh.

“What’s up losers?” Chenle interrupts, wiggling into the space between them.

“Game,” Jeno says, tongue stuck out in concentration. “Jisung is watching me play like the pro i am.”

Chenle’s lip curls upwards. “I think he is watching something else.”

Jisungs eyes snap to where Chenle is watching him. “Huh?” He says dumbly.

Chenle barks out a laugh. His lips are tinted pink, as glossy as the noona’s lips. Jisung looks away.

✰

They are at a little restaurant in the middle of Osaka. Five cameras are situated around the table and at this point, he’s a little tired of being filmed. The powder on his face feels weird and he just wants to go home.

 

He also wants to eat.

“Hyung, could you pass me the tteokbokki?”

Chenle fixes him with a strange look. “That sounds weird.”

“Oh, yeah.” Jisung licks his lips. He doesn’t know why he said that. “Sorry.”

“Chenle.” He says, soft; only for Jisung’s ears. “Just Chenle.”

Jisung takes the tteokbokki and silently puts some of the rice cakes onto his plate.

 

What he wants most, is for things to feel normal again.

✰

It starts with the subtle looks, the smiles. Mark has always been charismatic, in that cute, baby-faced, kind of cool way. The blonde noona - Miyoung - always does his makeup now, and Jisung knows she doesn’t have to.

“I think,” Renjun begins. “Mark hyung and that Noona have something going on.”

They all look over to where they are sat. Jisung flexes his fingers.

Jeno takes a look at Jisung. 

 

_ Dude _ , he mouths. Jisung shrugs. Inside, he wishes it was him. Wishes he was older.

He wants to go home.

 

“Don't you have a little crush on her?” Haechan asks, teasing.

“No.” it doesn't sound convincing. “I mean, she's pretty.”

He looks over at Chenle, without even thinking, to see that he is watching him. Chenle turns away then, his expression unreadable.

Jisung realises that his noona isn't the only pretty person in that room, and the thought is enough to scare him into silence for the rest of the day.

✰

Only a few days left in Japan. Jisung is counting down the days at this point. 

 

Miyoung noona is doing his makeup this time. Up close, she is even more stunning. _ She is pretty,  _ he tells himself, like he is convincing himself of something.

The staff have dyed his hair a shocking shade of blue for their next comeback.

“I really like it Jisung-ah,” His Noona says, looking him over. “You look so grown up.”

“You think?” He replies, smiling like he does on stage. She giggles.

“Really handsome.”

 

It should make him feel good, but it doesn’t.

He sees Chenle sit down opposite from him, ready to have his own makeup done. His hair is a soft shade of lavender. He flashes him a thumbs up. For some reason, it only makes Jisung feel worse, and he doesn’t know why.

✰

“Snake?” Chenle asks that night, disturbing the quiet of their small room. 

 

It has just passed eleven. 

 

They have two more days left in Japan, then it's back to normal, back to routine. In Seoul, they are already working on a new song for them.

Jisung looks up from his comic book, closes it, then places it beside him.

“Alright.”

He gets out his laptop and loads the game. Chenle sits cross legged in front of him, mirroring Jisung’s position-- his purple hair looks all scruffy.

“You look like the cookie monster with that hair.”

 

Jisung looks up, his heart beating in his chest. The feeling of familiarity he longed for was so, so close.

“Well, you look like Barney.”

They look at each other and break out into giggles. 

 

Jisung exhales. 

_ “Barney?  _ It isn't even that purple. You need to work on your comebacks, Jisung Park.” 

“Nothing came to mind,” Jisung argues, his ears flushing red.

"I'll forgive it," Chenle gestures to the laptop. “If I beat you, I can ask for anything I want from you. And visa versa.”

Jisung’s eyebrows shoot up. Bets weren’t new, but this is. “Anything?”

“Anything.”

“Alright, you’re on.” 

 

He has a snapback that Jisung has been eyeing for a while.

  
  


To his surprise, Chenle wins that night, and every time they play it afterwards.

✰

“You owe me.”

Chenle corners Jisung on the last day, after he comes back from his trip to the coffee shop with Renjun (His treat upon noticing his mood). 

 

He says it like he is teasing but there’s something a little serious about his tone. It is really unsettling and Jisung can’t stop squinting.

“Oh, right.” Jisung looks over to his suitcase. “Just don't take the supreme hoodie.”

“I don't want your clothes!” Chenle laughs, loud, shrill and childish. It is so  _ Chenle  _ it makes Jisung want to laugh too. “What do you want then?”

“I want to ask you,” he starts slowly. “if you would be my boyfriend. Kind of. Whatever that means.”

Jisung blinks, once then twice, repeating the words in his head to make sure that he heard it right.  _ Boyfriend.  _ Surely, he must have misheard.

“What?” Jisung splutters eventually, when the ability to speak catches up with him. His heart is now hammering against his chest.

Chenle’s eyes widen like he can't believe what he has just said.

“Jisung,” He says, completely overwhelmed. “Forget I just said that.” he then adds with an awkward laugh, one the youngest has never heard before. 

 

He is going to make a run for it.

Jisung plants his hands on Chenle’s shoulders to stop him from leaving. His heart is beating so fast it feels like it will burst out of his chest-- he looks around, as if to check if anyone was around to listen in.

“Repeat that.”

Chenle stares at him and Jisung stares right back. 

 

“I like you.”

_ Beat. Beat. Beat. _

 

“Chenle-”

He looks away. “And i know you like that Noona. I don’t know why i said that.”

“She’s pretty.” Jisung starts. Chenle closes his eyes. 

 

He thinks about how pretty Chenle looks right now; his soft hair, his pink lips. He thinks about much he likes his laugh, playing games with him. “But, I think- I think, I like you too. Possibly?”

Chenle’s eyes flicker open. They stare at each other for what feels like ages.

“This is strange.” Chenle says. Jisung agrees. 

 

Is this what love is supposed to feel like? It’s nothing spectacular, but it sure feels exciting.

 

Chenle bursts out laughing. “I’m shy” He admits bluntly.

“A nice change--”

“Jisung park!”

Jisung chuckles quietly and bites his lip. "This is kinda scary."

"It's not," Chenle says gently-- and maybe it is the most mature he has ever sounded. "Two people liking each other, what's so scary about that? We just act the same as always."

Unable to help it, Jisung leans forward and pecks him on the cheek. Jisung has never had a girlfriend, or boyfriend, before. He thinks about kisses - proper kisses - and his hands go all clammy.

“Oh my god.” Chenle says in english, cradling his cheek. It is so ridiculous. Jisung wonders if he is dreaming. He makes this weird sound that kind of resembles a dolphin; Jisung grabs a pillow smacks him in the face with it.

“Keep your voice down!” He whisper hisses, flustered.

“I will scream if i  _ want. _ ” Chenle whisper hisses back, wrestling Jisung to the floor.

**_“Would you two shut up and pack your cases!”_ **

The two of them pause and Chenle shoots Jisung a cheeky grin. _ “Oops.” _

Jisung smiles like an idiot. Above it all, they are best friends-- that is something will never change. He knows that they are still young, and maybe this isn’t love, but right now it is all that matters.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> comments are appreciated !! 
> 
> come and talk to me on tumblr about how cute chensung is : ))) @ zhonglee


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